An old tale is of a cow falling into the canal at one end then passing through the tunnel before rescue. It is said it was taken to the nearby pub and revived with a drink. There is also a large reservoir that feeds the canal and boating takes place on here. Barge trips are also available on the canal.

Foulridge has been part of Lancashire since the Middle Ages and was about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the boundary of the old West Riding of Yorkshire. With the creation of the Borough of Pendle in 1974 parts of Yorkshire, including Earby and Barnoldswick, were transferred to Lancashire, and Foulridge moved further away from the White Rose county. There is an old village sign which used to mark the boundary with Yorkshire which has been affixed to the village hall in the centre of Foulridge. There is a large reservoir in the village which feeds the canal and which in turn is fed from other smaller reservoirs around the village.

Looking towards the canal on the left from Colne the remains of the derelict railway line from Colne to Skipton can be seen, a little further along is the small village of Salterforth, there is a canalside pub here called "the Anchor", an unusual feature of which is that when a road and bridge were built outside it needed another storey to be built on, so the original upstairs of the old pub is now the present pub, the original pub is now the cellar and it has a second cellar, this has water leaking through from the canal and has stalactites and stalagmites.